MISSION & OBJECTIVE
The Best Shorts Competition is not a traditional film festival; rather it is an avant-garde worldwide competition that strives to give talented directors, producers, actors, members of the creative team and new media creators the positive exposure they deserve. It discovers and honors the achievements of filmmakers worldwide who produce high quality shorts and new media. It promotes the award winners through press releases to over 43,000 filmmakers, industry contacts and media/distribution outlets.

The Best Shorts Competition proudly conforms to the Universal Film & Festival Organization's Best Business Practices.

ABOUT THE FESTIVAL
The Best Shorts Competition puts filmmakers first and provides a direct opportunity for recognition and publicity for high quality films and documentaries. It is international in scope and has granted awards to producers in Australia, Bahrain, Brazil, Canada, China, Columbia, Denmark, France, Germany, Iceland, Iran, Israel, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Malta, Martinique, New Zealand, Norway, Philippines, Romania, Russia, Singapore, Spain, South Korea, Switzerland, Taiwan, Turkey, United Kingdom and the United States.

The Best Shorts Competition is an excellent venue for new and experimental media, television pilot programs, animation, educational programs, remixes & mashups, movie trailers, music videos, webisodes and tube length works. As long as your clip is 57 minutes or less, it is eligible for entry.

(The Best Shorts sister competitions are the Accolade Global Film Competition, www.AccoladeCompetition.org and the IndieFEST Film Awards, www.TheiIndieFEST.com. All three competitions have independent judging and judging results from one competition will not influence the outcome of the other.)

ORGANIZERS
Rick Prickett (Competition Coordinator)

GENERAL RULES
1. Entries MUST be 57 minutes or less. (If you would like to enter a feature length film, documentary, or feature television program, please submit to the Accolade Competition at www.AccoladeCompetition.org and the Indie Fest at www.TheIndieFest.com)

4. Submissions in other than English must be subtitled, dubbed or include an English transcript.

5. Written comments describing entries are invited and helpful during judging.

6. Entries will not be returned.

Like most award competitions the first level of judging is conducted in-house. Staff is selective. All the entries recommended for Award of Merit and Award of Excellence are carefully screened by the Competition Chairperson. Entries judged to be potential Best of Show winners may be sent to outside judges for additional review. The Chairpersons role is to assure consistency across judging and maintain high standards.

Note: The Best Shorts Competition is not a traditional film festival; it is an international awards competition. Judging results will be sent about two to four weeks following the final deadline to all participants, i.e., to those who were granted awards and those who were not granted awards. Free digital downloads of Best Shorts laurels will be made available to all winners.

Each Best of Show winner will receive one free Best Shorts statuette. Other winners may order a Best Shorts statuette for a cost of $375 per statuette. Shipping is free within the United States but international orders will be charged a $60 shipping fee. The Best Shorts statuette is an elegant 24-K gold-plated achievement figure mounted on a piano finished rosewood base. The Best Shorts statuette is manufactured by the company that makes the world's most prestigious and celebrated awards, the Oscar, Emmy, Clio, Accolade and MTV Video Music Awards. The statuette is an excellent way to showcase all your hard work!

TERMS AND CONDITIONS

Best Shorts is hereby granted the right to utilize an excerpt from any film submitted and accepted for exhibition for promotional purposes.
The Best Shorts Competition is hereby granted the right to share your contact information in specific instances when someone inquires about your production and is trying to make contact with you.
The individual or corporation submitting the film hereby warrants that it is authorized to submit the film for consideration, and understands and accepts these requirements and regulations.
The undersigned shall indemnify and hold harmless Best Shorts from and against any and all claims, liabilities, losses, damages, and expenses (including but not limited to attorney's fees, and costs of the court) which may be incurred by reason of any claim involving copyright, trademark, credits, publicity, screening, and loss of or damage to the screening videos entered.
The undersigned understands that the Best Shorts Competition is not a traditional festival and that it is an international awards competition. The undersigned is responsible for providing the Best Shorts Competition with an up-to-date email address as judging results will be sent about two to four following the final deadline to all participants, i.e., to those who were granted awards and those who were not granted awards. Free digital downloads of Best Shorts laurels will be made available to all winners but Best Shorts statuettes if desired must be purchased.